Friday, September 19, 2008

Delectable Cracker Crust Pizza-- A Friday Tradition

artsyfoodiefamily


On Fridays, our family has a tradition of eating homemade pizza and having a game-night or movie-night. It's something that my children all look forward to and a great way to kick off the weekend. The challenge is to keep the menu interesting. Some weeks, I'll take requests and others I concoct a total surprise.

This is the type of dish that makes me not miss my wheat-filled days. Even back then, if someone had presented me with a slice of this pizza, I would have declared it a burst of happiness in every bite. The crust is just crispy enough to lend a wonderful texture. The aromatic chickpea flour serenades the sweet caramelized onions, while the herbes de provence spread a little sunshine on the whole scene.

Caramelized Onion Pizza

Caramelized Onion Pizza (serves 4)

For the Crispy Pizza Crust:
You can substitute the flour for Bob's Mill Gluten-Free Flour Mix but don't forget the xantham gum.
If you are not concerned about gluten or wheat use 1/2 cup of whole-wheat flour, 1/2 cup of garbanzo flour, and 1 cup of all-purpose and omit the xantham gum.

1/2 cup of millet flour
1/2 cup of garbanzo flour
1 cup of sorghum
2 tsp xantham gum
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tablespoon of sugar
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 cup of water
olive oil

Preheat the oven to 350F.
Oil a pizza pan.
In the food processor, mix the flours, xantham gum, salt and sugar. Add the olive oil and pulse to a coarse crumb. Add the water and continue pulsing until a ball is formed (adding more water in small increments if necessary).
Transfer the ball of dough to a surface dusted with a little bit of flour. Roll out into a thin roundish form. Carefully, transfer the disk of dough to your prepared pan. Brush the top with some more olive oil and bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until crust looks cooked through.
Take out of the oven but increase the heat to 400F.

For the topping:
1/2 cup of shredded italian cheeses (ex: asiago, mozzarella, parmesan, romano)
1 cup of caramelized onions
12 kalamata olives (optional)
1/4 cup of finely chopped parsley

Spread the cheese on top of the cooked crust.
Add the caramelized onion slices and olives evenly on top.
Bake in the oven for about 10-15 minutes or until cheese is hot and bubbly.
Spread parsley on top, slice and serve.

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20 comments:

Mary Ann said...

This looks absolutely wonderful! What a great tradition!

rachel said...

Alexa,
I love your friday night family tradition- we also have a pretty solid friday night tradition. And I LOVE the look of that pizza! I am a pizza fanatic- and that looks just outstanding

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

What a fabulous (and scrumptious!) family tradition!!

Dewi said...

Alexa,
That is really nice pizza, have you ever tried tarte flambee? It is also using onion. I made this so many times, but never be able to post it, since I had to make it when evrybody is ready to eat. It is Alsatian specialty and our very close family friend from Alsace showed us how to make it. I might post it oneday, maybe when nobody at home (so I can take photo peacefully)
Well done.

P.S. I am glad that you tried and like the Aloo Tikki.

Robin said...

Caramelized onions! Be still my heart! This pizza looks beautiful. What a great tradition and such a cute family. Love the curls and freckles! I love the use of all the different flours, I didn't even know some of them existed so this is fun for me to learn about all of this.

Alexa said...

Mary Ann, Rachel and Veggiegirl,
Thank you for you comments.:-)

Elra,
I have never had a tarte flambee with onions but it sounds amazing. I've had desserts that were flambee. When I was a child. my mom use to flambee crepes and an ice cream cake. I would enjoy reading a post about that if you get around to it.
Also, the Aloo Tikki was so wonderful. My kids and husband have already requested a repeat.

Robin Sue,
It is so much fun to explore all the different possibilities out there... Keeps things interesting.

Anonymous said...

YUM!!! Reminds me of a pissalidiere I had in France. What a great tradition you have!

CECIL said...

I love caramelized onions and what a perfect topping for pizza.

Deeba PAB said...

What a great tradition Alexa...how absolutely wonderful! I love the mix of flours; am gonna try this soon. O did I tell you that I love your art too? I think I did before, but I'll say it again...WAY TO GO ARTSY FOODIE!! Brilliant! xoxoxo Deeba

Vera said...

Alexa, I love your family tradition! And what can be better than caramelized onions!

Jacqueline Meldrum said...

Oh Wow, I am drooling over this pizza! can I come to your house next Friday? We had soup here on Friday and while it was delicious, it just doesn't compare to this pizza.

P.S. Your entry is up on the No Croutons Required September roundup, along with the voting poll.

Good Luck
:)

Alexa said...

Chefectomy,
My French roots are coming out...

Cecil,
They get so sweet-- it's a nice contrast to the salty cheese. I'm glad you liked it.

Deeba,
Thank you. You are so kind. I am having great time with it.

Vera,
Thanks for your visit and comment.:-)

Holler,
Sure Holler... Anytime!

Clumbsy Cookie said...

What a wonderful tradition! And wonderful pizza;)!

Cannelle Et Vanille said...

caramelized onions is music to my ears... beauty!

Dewi said...

Alexa,
I have to pass you this "E" award, you really deserve it. Please visit me @ http://elrascooking.blogspot.com/2008/09/e-award.html
If you have the time. Cheers.

Mary Ann said...

I love your blog so much. Such beautiful food and so, I gave you a blog award. Go check it out when you have a minute!

Bonbon Oiseau said...

one of my favorites! i miss pizza too..:( but this looks soo good...

Alexa said...

Clumbsy Cookie and Aran,
I'm happy that you liked it.

Elra and Mary Ann,
Thank you so much!!! I'm off to check it out. What a happy way to start off my week... You guys are so sweet. :-)

Bonbon Oiseau,
I have been making a lot of thin crust pizza lately. They are so good, you would never miss the wheat. I haven't tried making the regular fluffy pizza crusts because we tend to favor the thin ones but I might try that and post about it the future.

bee said...

i've been experimenting with many more traditional grains like sorghum. these were common growing up in india, but i'm discovering them just now. will try this after i get xanthan gum.

Jacqueline Meldrum said...

Ok, I am packing then LOL!

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